The man who stared down at the LTA enforcement officer is allegedly high on drugs.
A man wearing only a pair of black shorts was photographed staring down a Land Transport Authority (LTA) enforcement officer while sitting on the officer’s motorcycle in the middle of the road.
In the photo which was shared widely online on social media, the man who was not wearing a mask, a shirt, or have any shoes on, could be seen sitting on a stationary white motorcycle and engaging in a stare down with a LTA officer.
According to Shin Min, the man caught the attention of a LTA enforcement officer who happened to be patrolling the area. The man was loitering around at that time, and his strange behaviour prompted the officer to step forward and understand the situation. The police told Shin Min that a 42-year-old man was arrested on suspicion for drug-related offences at the scene.
In 2020, there were approximately three thousand people arrested abusing drugs in Singapore, a decrease of around 500 from the previous year; while the number of drug abusers arrested in 2021 decreased by 11 per cent.
The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) says that it remains steadfast in adopting a comprehensive drug control strategy that tackles both drug supply and demand. This it says, is done through preventive drug education (PDE), tough anti-drug laws, rigorous enforcement, international engagement, and rehabilitation and aftercare of drug offenders.
In its 2021 Drug Situation Report, CNB said that it conducted intensive enforcement operations in that year which resulted in the dismantling of 25 drug syndicates. CNB also worked closely with other Home Team agencies to conduct more than 100 joint operations, including at the checkpoints, to intercept attempts to smuggle drugs into Singapore.
CNB attributed the decreasing number of drug abusers arrested in 2021 to restricted social interactions arising from COVID-19 measures.
“Indeed, because of COVID-19 travel restrictions, drug trafficking syndicates have continued to look for novel ways to bring drugs into Singapore. Drug seizures remained high in 2021 and are indicative of CNB’s effective enforcement efforts.”
It noted that there were several other worrying trends in 2021. “The proportion of new drug abusers arrested remained high at 34%, and the proportion of new drug abusers arrested who were under 30 years old remained significant at 60%.”
CNB continually reviews its anti-drug strategy to stay ahead of the evolving drug landscape. The First Schedule to the Misuse of Drugs Act was further expanded in May 2021 to cover more drugs.
Singapore also adopts a harm-prevention approach to deal with the scourge of drugs. The Government says its approach has worked well in Singapore and has helped keep the drug situation under control.